Within the quiet ambiance of a hotel bar near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His carriage is naturally straight-backed, his limbs defined beneath a plain tee. During performances, ballet dancers can seem as mighty deities, yet frequently in person they are small. Not so Ball, whose tall stature is part of his popularity for princely roles and pas de deux work. Possessing fine traits and intense eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.
An Apparent Ascent to the Top
Now 31, Ball is experiencing the crest of a career that has progressed smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced little teasing for his early passion in ballet. Entering the esteemed training institution at 11, he moved directly into the troupe and was advanced each year, attaining the highest position of lead dancer in 2018. He has relished taking on meaty dramatic roles, particularly the psychological angst found in Kenneth MacMillan's ballets.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
Ball's next starring role is in a talk, in an "Evening With" series designed to offer intimate insights into a performer's art. He will guide the crowd through a part, showing his mental workflow during performance. Even in more comedic works, the test is significant. "A classic ballet is one of the most demanding technically," he notes.
The Psychological Game and Post-Performance Emotions
How does he feel following a show, when he has pulled it off? "It's pretty good," he admits. "However because I'm trying to extract all the juice out of it, and get immersed in the character, frequently I do feel embarrassed later. After Mayerling I'm always like: Wow, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and quick to laugh at himself. Yet a choreographer once remarked on a "sense of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite active in general, but I do have a dark side," he reveals. "I kind of enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an instigator for positive change."
Early Drivers and Creative Inspirations
Ball's determination originated in early experiences. Not doing well in competitions at school made him "vengeful!" This became motivation to prove he could achieve. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit fanatical," he remembers.
An upcoming challenge is making his own choreography. For Ball, "organic movement has value." "Breaking the rules is interesting, but just acting that they’re not a reality any more – I don’t know how far you can go with that." He wants his work to be loaded with substance, drawing ideas from literature, compositions, and painting.
Close-Up Performance and Personal Dynamic
He also is interested in staging dance in smaller spaces. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a previous show. "You’re so close to the viewers. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a person, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has created duets with his partner, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The degree of trust between them is evident. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a audacious lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." They aren’t typically paired on stage at their main theater, which might be healthy. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he admits. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s favorite cheerleader."
Regarding Instagram and Physical Image
On social media, fans can see videos from his dance films and photos that showcase a athletic form. Does he mind that the response can be somewhat focused on appearance? Not really. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he explains. He compares it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be interpreted on multiple ways.
Ball describes his younger self as "desperate for success." Has it met his expectations? "I am conscious of how reality is a different thing to the dreams you had as a young person," he reflects. He likely has another decade of dancing left. "I guess in the future, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
